Sunday, July 28, 2013

A whole new world

So tonight I experienced something I've never experienced before. And let me tell you, it was amazing! Not only was I able to experience it, but also my husband and two of our children, and we LOVED it. Or, at least I did. It was a rush the whole time! What on Earth did we do? Went to a grocery store of course. :) not just any grocery store though, no we went to Sunshine foods. I recently found out that they double coupons up to $0.50 and I had to try it for myself. I know I've said it over and over again, that there aren't any stores around us that do double coupons and it really irks me, but times may have just changed.
What's the deal with double coupons though? How do they work? Well sit back and get ready because I'm about to blow your mind.

When a store says that they "double coupons" it's like a promotion. You know, when they say they have "good buys" this week, saying they will double coupons is just another way to get customers into their store. What's the catch? There isn't one really. The idea is to get you into the store so that you buy other products. The way the store sees it is if they offer you a discount on certain products and you go in to take advantage of those deals and then purchase your week's worth of groceries, it's totally worth it. They want you to come into the store and buy everything on your list even if it isn't on sale, but will hook you in with all their items that are on sale.

In all reality, the store is losing out on the cash because they double the coupon, which means they are matching the value of the manufacturer's coupon. So if I use a $0.50/1 coupon, they will match the value of that coupon which is $0.50 out of their pockets. So ya, they just lost that money. But here's where it gets tricky. They aren't technically going to be losing out on that money because once they get a customer into the store to take advantage of the deals, they will most likely continue to shop and get the rest of their grocery items there as well. So yes, if you had 10 $0.50 off coupons and they doubled them, then they are out $5, but if you end up buying $40 in groceries on top of the items that you had the double coupons for, they just got more business out of you. It's basically a win-win.

Currently at Sunshine Foods in Hawarden, they don't quite have a coupon policy out. But I was able to speak with a gal who is in charge of handling all the coupons and asked her a couple of questions. 1.Sunshine Foods doubles coupons up to $0.50. So if you have a coupon $.50 or less, they'll match the value of that coupon.2.The store will double 10 coupons per transaction. A transaction is each time you pay for what you are purchasing. 3.They do accept internet printable coupon.4.There is no limit of "like" coupons. So if you have 10 of the same coupon, use them in one transaction.5.The store does have the right to tell you when enough is enough. Obviously, if you want to get more than 20 of something, you need to call ahead of time and preorder the item. I'm not sure if Sunshine does that because I know it's difficult to preorder food items and trust that the customer is going to pay for it once it arrives. Food has a shelf life, they don't want to be responsible for pushing it if the consumer decides to ditch out on them.

The policy is very lenient, but that doesn't mean it should be taken advantage of either. Having double coupons in a privilege, not a right. It can be taken away just as quickly as it was offered and then everyone is back to square one again.

Above is a picture of my shopping trip there tonight. I got 12 bags of Chex Mix, (it even included all the awesome flavors!), which were on sale for 3/$3. Here's the kicker, well actually there are two...1.These retail for $2.84 each, and 2. These are not the little bags, they're 8.75oz which I was not expecting. I also got a 9.8oz box of regular cheerios because Oliver is addicted to them! These retail for $3.99 a box but were on sale for 3/$6 or $2 each.

Okay so break down. Got all of them.

Used 1 $0.50/1 Yellow box cheerios which doubled up to $1, so I paid $1 for the Cheerios. Then used 6 $0.50/2 bags of Chex Mix which all doubled up to $1/2 bags of Chex mix. So after coupons and doubling, I paid just $0.50 per bag of Chex mix!

My total after coupon values and doubles was just $7 for everything! So in reality, by matching up great sales along with great coupons, I actually saved a total of $31.07!!! Double coupons just became my best friend.

I don't expect to go up there every week or anything but if there's a good deal that would only be able to be had with a coupon being doubled, then heck yes I will be driving to Hawarden!